Seoul Monthly Meeting Introduction

Seoul Monthly Meeting Introduction

 

(by Bae Hyun-Duck)

 

Seoul Monthly Meeting Profile

 

The Seoul Monthly Meeting was founded in the late 1950's by a group of Koreans who became interested in Quakerism from encountering the relief and medical work done by American Friends Service Committee (US) and Friends Service Council (GB) following the Korean War.

 

With the assistance of American Quaker families living in Seoul, the group met regularly for unprogrammed worship, and eventually this meeting was officially recognized as a Monthly Meting of the Religious Society of Friends under the care of the Friends World Committee for Consultation. (FWCC 10^th Meeting - August 3-6, 1967).

 

In recent years, about 10~20 people attend the Seoul Monthly Meeting on a regular basis.

We lack members who are from the younger generation as young people seldom come to join us for Quaker worship.

 

These days, after worship every Sunday, we study Quaker practice by reading and discussing Howard Brinton’s work.

 

Meeting Activities

 

Seoul Monthly Meeting has been active in providing support for various relief works.

In 2013 we raised funds to help the typhoon disaster victims in the Philippines.

In 2014 we supported the construction of anti-naval base container house in Jeju Island, helped plant trees and assisted children in North Korea, and raised money for the Vietnamese Agent Orange victims from the Vietnam War.

 

Oh Chul-geun, one of our meeting members has been very active in the anti-naval base protest movement in Jeju Island. And Seoul Monthly Meeting has given full support to him both spiritually and financially as he engaged in sambo-il-bae or three-steps-one-prostration march for over 560 days in Gangjeong village on Jeju Island where the Korean government is constructing a massive naval base against the wishes of the residents. In support of the villagers resisting the naval base construction, Oh Chul-geun intends to continue the 5 hours-a-day march for 1,000 days. People are against the naval base because it will create higher tension and may become a flashpoint for a major military conflict between the USA and China, endangering peace on the Korean peninsula, Northeast Asia and the world.

 

Together with Oh Chul-geun, our meeting will continue to support the work for peace in Jeju.

 

Thank you for allowing me to give this brief introduction of the Seoul Monthly Meeting.